The Mystery of the Magical Switch
by Reganfan
Summary: What happens when Hermione and a young sleuth named Trixie get switched in each others lives?
1. Prologue

He peered closely into his crystal ball. What sounded like a soft hum came out of him. Only the gigantic snake at his feet knew what her master was chanting as he waved his thin pale fingers over the orb. A smile, if you could call it that, formed on the snake's face as her tongue darted out to taste the air.

"Nagini, we might finally be done with this mess," the voice came out in a series of hissing and spitting that would raise the hair on anyone's neck.

Nagini slithered close enough to rest her head in her master's lap and, with the same snake-like smile, nodded.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione wandered aimlessly through the streets of Hogsmeade. The three six years passed The Hog's Head without a second look. Ron paused at Zonko's Joke Shop, hearing Fred or George (he could never be sure which) calling to him.

"Ron, you should see this one!" George beckoned. "It might do you a bit of good. Might actually ask Granger out." Fred held up a parcel for Ron to read.

"Get on then," Ron said angrily, blushing as he shoved the liquid courage back at his brothers. He joined his two best friends outside and they continued their walk. They made a quick stop in Honeydukes where Harry bought them each a sweet.

"I have to run in," Hermione stopped at the door to the book shop. "Have one quick thing to pick up."

Ron and Harry waited outside, happily eating their treats.

"I don't know what is the matter with her. Why would anyone ruin a perfectly good trip to Hogsmeade by buying books?" Ron moaned.

"Nothing. She is being Hermione," Harry joined Ron in rolling his eyes.

Harry and Ron had finished their treats what seemed like hours ago, but was really only 15 minutes ago. The weather was pleasant, as it was the beginning of spring, but they were eager to get a round of butterbeers.

"Wonder what's taking Hermione so long. She said she would be right out," Harry wondered aloud, frowning, watching the front of the book store.

"She probably got caught up in a little bit of 'light' reading," Ron snorted.

"No, she knew we were meeting up with the others at The Three Broomsticks."

"Maybe we should go in and look for her," Ron whined impatiently. Hermione rushed out just then, a giant book in her hands.

"Sorry it took so long. There was a bit of a line," she smiled. Nose in her new book, she fell into step behind the boys on their way to the Three Broomsticks.

Harry and Ron were talking about Quidditch and the teams at Hogwarts. The conversation quickly turned to the best pro player. Ron stood by his player, Brut Lordo- a relatively unknown new player, while Harry was convinced that Viktor Krum was at the top of his game.

"Come on Ron, you're just jealous still because he took-" Harry cut his comment off as Ron sent a particularly nasty glare his way.

"Hermione, tell Ron that Krum is still the best of the best in Quidditch," Harry turned to face Hermione, only to find she was gone. In her place was a short, sturdy girl with unruly blonde curls and big blue eyes full of confusion and curiosity.

"Trixie, really. Won't you just tell me what your all-fired hurry is?" Honey requested one last time as she followed her best friend as she ran through the halls of Sleepyside Jr. Sr. High.

"I don't want to go into it twice, Honey. Let's just wait until we are able to meet with the others."

By 'the others,' Trixie meant the other members of their semi-secret club The Bob Whites of the Glen. The club was made up by Honey Wheeler, her adopted brother Jim Frayne, Trixie's older brothers Brian and Mart, Di Lynch, Dan Mangan, and Trixie herself. The two 16 year olds were on their way to meet up with the Bob Whites at the front of the school.

It was the last day of school before the week long spring break. Jim and Brian were home from college already and had promised to pick the others up from school and head straight for Wimpy's, their favorite hamburger hang out.

"Alright, Trix, we're all here. What in the world has set you into such a tizzy?" Honey asked after they had all piled into the station wagon, that had been left at home that morning.

"I hate to do this to you, Honey, but can't we wait until we're settled at Wimpy's?"

"Yeah, Hon, I'm starving," Mart added his two cents, too hungry to use his dictionary digested words. "I don't think I can listen to one of Trixie's tales without sustenance."

"Heaven forbid we torture Mart like that," Honey teased with a wink.

Honey was able to curb her curiosity on the ride to Wimpy's, getting a table, and placing their orders, but she was about to burst when Trixie said she had to make a quick run to the ladies room. Honey and Diana decided to join her to wash up for their meal.

Honey and Di just walked in as Trixie closed and locked her stall door. Di stationed herself at the mirror and started brushing her long dark hair. Honey smiled as she did the same. They were washing their hands when they heard the toilet flush.

Honey turned, waiting for Trixie to walk out, but the girl that walked out looked nothing like Trixie, except for her unruly curls.


	2. Sleepyside

Honey looked closely at the new girl, took in her bushy hair and puzzled brown eyes. With a confused frown on her face, she peered around the girl and her unruly hair. Honey looked towards Di, one eyebrow raised. Di returned a carbon copy of Honey's look and shrugged.

"Where'd Trixie go?"

"Who's Trixie?" Came from the stranger as she played with her tote bag, quickly shoving a book into its depths.

"Our friend. Short, wild blonde curls? She went in that stall!" Honey said. The girl glanced over her shoulder into the stall.

"Well, she's not there now," she said, looking back to Honey and Di.

"We can see that," Di nearly snorted.

"Oh dear, where are my manners?" Honey brushed her hair back and held out her hand. "I'm Honey Wheeler."

"Diana Lynch, but you can call me Di," Di also held out her hand.

"Hermione Granger," she shook both hands with a hesitant grin.

"Well, we should probably get back to our table. The boys are probably wondering where we are," Di said to Honey. Di was correct, for at that moment, Dan met their gazes from across the room with a questioning look towards the new arrival.

"Yes, Trixie probably just slipped out when we weren't paying attention," Honey said as Di nodded in agreement. Honey turned to Hermione, "Why don't you join us?"

"Alright," Hermione said slowly, looking around, "as long as you promise to answer some questions for me."

"What kind of questions?" Di asked as Honey slipped her arm through Hermione's and led her to their table.

"For starters, where am I?"

"Why, you're in Wimpy's Diner, you goof," Honey giggled.

"Where's Wimpy's Diner?"

"In Sleepyside on the Hudson, New York, of course," Di answered.

"Ah," Hermione hummed and fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. "I don't suppose you happen to have any owls around, do you? I just love watching them," she smiled. Hopefully Dumbledore would know what in the world was happening; she needed to send him an owl as soon as she could.

"Owls? Well, I suppose there are some out in Daddy's preserve. But they are nocturnal and only come out at night…" Honey trailed off in confusion.

"Yes, yes, I know all that," Hermione answered impatiently as they finally arrived at the table.

"Where's Trixie?" Honey asked, looking around at the group.

"She just went to the ladies room with you two," Jim gave his sister an odd look.

"Yes, but she isn't there now. We figured she had just come back out," Di told everyone.

"Haven't seen her since she disappeared through that door," Brian said.

"Disappeared is right," Honey mumbled with a slight scowl.

"Who's your new friend?" Dan asked, looking closely at a very thoughtful Hermione.

"Oh, this is Hermione Granger," Honey introduced. "Hermione, this is the gang, Jim, Brian, Mart, and Dan." The Bob-White males met her with a chorus of hellos.

"Pleasure," Hermione grinned. "So, tell me all about Trixie."

The Bob-Whites all started telling stories at once. It took a couple moments for them to get organized and speak one at a time. Hermione took in every detail of each story carefully even as she helped search the town for Trixie. When they finished eating they took their story telling to the station wagon as they drove out to Glen Road.

"We've told you all sorts of stories about us, now it's your turn. Where do you hail from?" Dan asked.

"I would like to wait until we're at the Belden's home." Hermione changed the subject. "You know, I would simply love to see the preserve before I meet the rest of the Beldens. If that's okay, I mean," Hermione requested.

"That's fine. We can go for a little walk, or we have horses that we could ride through the trails," Jim offered.

"Actually, I do love a nice walk," she smiled, hoping she'd find an owl she could summon.

They parked the car in the Manor House drive and wandered into the preserve, Jim carrying on a happily whistled tune. Hermione mentally crossed her fingers that the whistling wouldn't wake and chase away any of the owls. Spying a curve in the path up ahead, she ducked away hoping it would go unnoticed, pulling a slip of parchment from her tote. Biting her lip anxiously, she reread what she managed to jot on the parchment and slip into her tote before they had left Wimpy's.

Hermione glanced up into the trees, searching for any owl she could find. She had to bite her tongue when she saw a barn owl so she wouldn't cry out with relief. She went to the tree and started calling to the owl with no avail.

"Psst. Comere little owl," she knocked on the tree trunk. She was just about to start climbing when out of seemingly nowhere, a great gray owl landed on the branch right in front of her face. Once more Hermione found herself biting her tongue to keep a sound from escaping her mouth. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves before pulling the parchment from the gray owl.

"Thank you," she said softly and quickly read the message from Professor Dumbledore.

_Miss Granger,_

_It seems there has been a mysterious spell cast that brought Miss Belden here and sent you there to take her place. We aren't sure who, or how, but we will keep you updated. Keep your eye on the sky for Barnaby here. In the meantime, keep your nose clean. _

_Please let the Belden family know that Trixie is perfectly safe within the walls of Hogwarts until we are able to reverse this spell. _

_Professor Dumbledore_

_Despite your being under age, I don't see why you can't make use of a little magic while you are in Sleepyside. Be sure to be as inconspicuous as possible._

Hermione smiled, somewhat relieved. She pulled her wand out of her tote and conjured a pen and another small slip of parchment. She quickly jotted, "Don't worry about me" and handed it to Barnaby with her thanks as he took off.

"Did I just see an owl fly off?" Dan asked as he approached her. He knew that was exactly what he saw, but he didn't want to interrogate her.

"Yes. I think I must have scared it off."

"Probably. Well, we're all looking for you. You disappeared and we didn't want you to get lost."

"Oh, thank you. I guess we should be going to the Belden's now. I've got quite a story to share," Hermione ducked past Dan and rejoined the group.

Brian led the way into Crabapple Farm, the cozy little farmhouse where the Beldens lived. Mart followed Brian and Hermione slipped in after them, quickly followed by the rest of the BWGs.

"Moms?" Brian called through the friendly kitchen. "Dad? You home?"

"Moms? Dad? We really need to sit down and talk with you," Mart added impatiently, thinking they weren't answering Brian soon enough.

"We're in the den," their father's voice carried in to meet them.

Hermione swallowed hard before following the two Belden boys into the den. She didn't want to be the one to tell such a nice family what had happened. And who would believe that Trixie had disappeared to a school of magic?

"Well, who is this?" Helen Belden asked as she gave Hermione a welcoming hug.

"This is Hermione Granger. We met her today at Wimpy's," Honey introduced everyone.

"She said that she has a story to share with us," Dan mentioned.

"Yes I do, actually," Hermione tried to smile.

"Why don't we wait for Trixie?" Peter suggested. "Where is she anyway?"

"As a matter of fact, my story actually has to do with Trixie… and why she isn't here at the moment."

"Well, then, by all means continue," Peter invited.

"It is my belief that Trixie is actually in my place at my boarding school in England," Hermione started out slowly.

"Oh, boarding school. That must be perfectly dreadful for you," Honey sympathized.

"I love Hogwarts. It's my home away from home. My teachers are wonderful-well most of them anyway. I have the best bunch of friends there too. But I've gotten way off track.

"But I'm getting ahead of myself. I am a witch. Trixie is at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with my friends, safe and sound. I received a note from my Head Master, Professor Dumbledore, actually confirming my belief."

"School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Helen repeated.

"Yes, that is what I said."

"Just what kind of sick joke is this? And what have you people done with my Princess?" Peter demanded.

"This is no joke, _sir_. Trixie is at my school in my place and I've been thrust into her place. She's in my school, taking my classes, which I miss very much I might add."

"Well, if you're a witch- excuse me, a witch in training, prove it." Jim's tone was too close to mocking for Hermione's taste.

"I think I will, thank you," Hermione said tartly as she drew her wand out of her pocket. The wand drew a couple gasps from around the room, though she wasn't sure who they had come from.

"Puer Norvegicus," she flicked her wand in Jim's direction. In a puff of green smoke the red headed young man disappeared. Only when the smoke cleared did the group of people see that he hadn't disappeared at all. He had been replaced with a rather large rat the color of Jim's russet hair.

"Jim?" Honey asked, stepping towards the rat. Before she got three steps closer, the rat took off running. There were way too many people in the room for his instincts to take.

"What did you do to him?" Brian asked angrily.

"He was the one that wanted me to prove it," Hermione defended herself.

"You've proved it, now change him back!" Honey cried.

"Well if the lot of you would just calm down and stop scaring the poor little rat, I would," Hermione said sweetly. Chaos reined for a few more moments and finally Hermione let out a heavy sigh and raised her wand once more.

"Accio Jim-Rat." The supple russet rat flew into Hermione's hand. Gently she tapped the rat's nose and muttered words that no one heard clearly. She quickly set the rat down in the vacated arm chair and backed away.

"Okay, so you are a witch," Mart grinned. "What else can you do?"

"I'm an under-aged witch. I'm technically not allowed to practice magic off of the school grounds. Professor Dumbledore gave me the go ahead, but told me to keep it light," she explained as Jim dusted his human self off while shuddering uncontrollably.

"Trixie is safe from any kind of spells and hexes, though, right?" Helen asked.

"Trixie is perfectly safe. We aren't sure what happened, or who cast what spell, but Professor Dumbledore will keep me updated by owl."

"By owl?" Dan repeated, a look of realization dawning on his face.

"Yes, owls will fly the letters to me."

The next two and a half hours were spent with Hermione telling them everything about the Wizarding world, including the school. After their rather late dinner, Hermione was invited to stay in Trixie's room for the length of her stay.

The next day Hermione woke up with the rest of the house. She started right in on Trixie's chores, feeding the chickens and gathering eggs, the latter with a little direction from Brian.

Brian reached around Hermione from behind her to get a scoop of chicken feed. His free hand still resting on the small of Hermione's back, he demonstrated how to toss the feed.

"It's a cake walk. You can do it in your sleep once you get the proper hang of it," Brian grinned down at her as she gave it a go. When they finished with feeding Brian positioned Hermione in front of him, her back to his front and cupping the back of her hand guided her in delicately gathering the eggs.

She helped Moms by setting the table, putting the serving dishes on the table, and clearing the table when everyone was finished.

From breakfast, Hermione went on to making beds. She peered over her shoulder and grinned when she realized that everyone had gone, save Moms and Bobby and they were in the kitchen. Pulling her wand out she flicked it at her bed. She followed suit in Bobby's room, then in Mart and Brian's room. Using the same method to get the dusting done, she finished with her chores in record time.

"Shame on me," she said softly to herself and smiled widely. Thinking better of it, she rushed back upstairs and tucked her wand safely in the pencil drawer of Trixie's desk.

"Really need to keep temptation at bay," she muttered as she left the room.

"Anything I can do to help, Moms?" Hermione wandered into the kitchen where Helen was busy at the stove and Bobby was fidgeting at his place at the table.

"Well, I suppose you can. I'm just boiling some eggs for Bobby to dye for me," Helen turned and smiled at Hermione before adding with a whisper, "He thinks he's too old for it, but I made him promise to help me."

"What can I do?" Hermione asked to keep from laughing out loud.

"If you could just get these things out for me," Helen handed the girl a recipe card for her homemade pie crust. They worked in a companionable silence, first gathering ingredients and then as they were mixing. Every once in a while Helen would give Hermione one tip or another.

"I have to say, Hermione, I am amazed at how quickly you've taken to baking," Helen said as they took the finished pie crusts out of the oven and prepared them for their filling.

"I helped Mum bake for years," Hermione explained again, figuring that Moms had been too shocked the night before to fully hear the story then. "See, I'm a Muggleborn."

"What is Muggleborn?"

"My parents aren't magically inclined. None of my family is. Mum and Daddy were so proud when I got my letter to Hogwarts," Hermione wore a nostalgic smile.

Helen froze, her mouth open about to say something more, when they heard a horrendous crash from the direction of the stairs. Hermione spun to look at the table, but Bobby was gone. The two rushed up the stairs, Helen in the lead muttering about all the gray hair that child was giving her. If Hermione hadn't have been so worried about Bobby, she would have laughed.

"I didn't mean to Moms, really! I don't know what happened!" Bobby exclaimed as Helen and Hermione rushed into Trixie's room. Bobby stood by the desk, what looked like a stick in his hand. The mirror above Trixie's chest of drawers was shattered.

"Robert Michael Belden, you are in a heap of trouble, Mister," Helen started, shaking a finger at her youngest child. She took the 'stick' away from Bobby and steered him into his room.

"You just stay right here. I have to take a breather before I talk to you about this." Helen left the room, closing the door behind her. She sighed as she opened her fist to look at the stick. At closer examination, it was brilliantly carved at the base, looking like ivy swirling its way up towards the tip. The carving stopped a third of the way up.

"Bloody," she broke off before she swore in front of Moms, "he found my wand, didn't he?" Hermione rushed up to Helen and looked into her hand. That was most definitely her wand.

"I don't understand it. Why would he purposely hit the mirror, he knows that it would break." She put her free hand against her forehead and swiped loose tendrils of hair back towards the clip at the nape of her neck.

"I think he's telling you the truth, Moms. And I can explain. We should probably wait for Mr. Belden though, so he can hear this too." Hermione grimaced at the thought of telling two grounded Muggles about this.

"Helen? Where are you?" Peter appeared at the base of the stairs.

"Speak of the Devil," Hermione said softly to herself.

"I'm so glad you're home dear, Hermione has something to explain to us," Helen started down the stairs for the kitchen to make her husband a quick lunch.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I would like to talk to Bobby first," Hermione requested. "I want to see if it was a fluke before I tell you my theory. And if you hand me my wand, I can fix the mirror for you."

"That would be lovely, thank you," Helen handed the wand back and started down the stairs to tell her husband what his son had done this time.

"Bobby," Hermione called as she knocked on his door. She peeked in and grinned at him. "Come here, I want you to try something."

"Will I get into more trouble with Moms?" he asked before meeting Hermione's eyes.

"No, honey, I'll make sure you don't get into any trouble with Moms." Hermione led Bobby back into Trixie's room, where she handed him her wand.

"What I want you to do, Bobby, is concentrate really hard, point my wand at the mirror and say _Reparo_."

Bobby did what he was told and nearly jumped out of his skin when the mattresses behind him crashed to the floor, the bed breaking while all the drawers in Trixie's chest came flying out and thudding to the floor.

"I swear I was concentrating on fixing the mirror, really, Mione, you have to believe me!" Bobby's voice cracked as he nearly threw Hermione's wand back to her.

"Bobby, it's okay. You won't get in trouble. Watch." She pointed her wand at the mirror and said, "_Reparo_."

Bobby watched in awe as all of the pieces, the big hunks to the little slivers of the mirror flew back into their rightful places. Hermione did the same with the chest of drawers and the bed. By that time Bobby's eyes were the size of saucers.

"How'd you do that?"

"It's a charm, Bobby. And if I don't miss my guess, you'll be learning how to do this in a couple of years."

"So, what are you telling us?" Peter asked for the third time, still not sure that he was grasping the issue.

"I'm saying that I think Bobby is magically inclined. When he turns eleven, he will get an owl carrying an acceptance letter. The reason the mirror broke was because each wand only works for the one witch or wizard they are meant for," Hermione repeated, not at all bothered. "You really should keep this quiet for now, though. Normal Muggles wouldn't be able to do anything at all with a wand."

"I'm stunned," Helen muttered. "And yet, it explains so much…"


	3. Hogwarts

Harry, Ron and the strange blonde girl stood in the middle of the road, staring at each other. The girl looked uneasy, but didn't move to take a step back. She straightened her spine and opened her mouth to say something.

Just as her first word was making its way out of her mouth, Draco Malfoy walked through the threesome, shoving the girl with his shoulder.

"Watch where you're going!" the boy with the pointed face snapped at the blonde girl.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," she said with a smile.

"There is no excuse for you, and yes, you are," Malfoy sneered.

The girl recoiled, taken aback at the lack of manners this boy had.

Harry took three long steps and was at her side. Stepping in front of her with a glare at the boy, he spoke, "Back off, Malfoy."

Malfoy glared at Harry with the hate of one thousand burning suns, turned on his heel and stormed off to find his cronies.

"Don't mind him, he wasn't taught proper manners for anything," Harry glowered at Draco's retreating form.

"Who the bloody 'ell are you and what did you do with Hermione?" Ron demanded.

"Herm… Who?" Confusion swept across her features.

"Apparently Ron is having a lapse of manners himself," Harry held out his hand. "Harry Potter. And that's Ron Weasley."

"Trixie Belden," she shook his proffered hand. Then she turned to offer her hand to Ron.

"So, you haven't seen Hermione?" Ron asked, also looking quite confused, and ignored Trixie's hand.

"I don't think so. What does she look like?" Trixie inquired as she dropped her hand. Harry described Hermione, with Ron throwing in a detail or two.

"No, I didn't see her yet."

"Bloody 'ell," Ron muttered, running his fingers through his red hair.

"To be completely honest, I'm not sure what is going on here. One minute I was in the ladies room of Wimpy's in Sleepyside with my friends, and then poof I was here." Trixie put her arms out wide and shrugged.

"Well, come with us. We'll treat you to a mug of butterbeer," Harry offered.

"Butter_beer_? I don't know if I should."

"Don't worry about it, its fine. We drink it all the time," Ron comforted. Still looking slightly worried, Trixie went into the Three Broomsticks with her two new friends.

Once inside the Three Broomsticks, Trixie was led to a table full of people. Harry and Ron quickly introduced her to Ginny- Ron's sister, George and Fred- Ron's twin brothers, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan.

A tall red headed lady joined the group, sitting herself between Fred and George. Ron quickly introduced her and Fred and George's flavor of the month.

_There are more red heads here than there are in Sleepyside._ Trixie thought to herself with a smile. _I sure hope that tall girl isn't another Weasley, especially with the way Ron introduced her._

At another table, Trixie saw Draco Malfoy, the rude boy that had yelled at her, surrounded by two rather big boys and several pretty girls. She decided that he couldn't be all that bad. Kind of like when Dan first arrived in Sleepyside; he had only needed a few good friends and he turned himself around. Trixie wasn't sure how she got here, or how to get back home, but she decided that she would make the most of her time while she was here and try to help this Malfoy character.

The group at the table with her was halfway through their butterbeers when they were approached by two men. One was an elderly gentleman with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes. The other was amazingly large and very hairy. Trixie had never seen a man so tall and full of hair, she absently wondered if giants really did exist. They seemed to make a beeline straight for her.

"Well hello, I'm Professor Dumbledore," He shook her hand and smiled at her as if he had known her all her life. She couldn't help but smile back. "And this is Rubeus Hagrid."

"Hello," she said as she shook his enormous hand.

"Professor is the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Hagrid is the Keeper of Keys and Grounds and Professor of Care of Magical Creatures," Harry explained to her.

"I'm sorry; did you say Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Trixie swallowed hard. She must have fallen in the bathroom stall and hit her head. This was surely some kind of dream.

"Yes, that's where we all go to school," Ron told her. "Hermione too. I really do wonder where she got off to."

"Don't you worry a bit about Hermione," Dumbledore said with a slight smile and that familiar twinkle in his eyes.

"Why do you say that?" Trixie asked.

"How do you know?" Harry's question quickly followed.

"Where is she?" Ron demanded.

"Well, I suppose, she just might be in Trixie's place," Dumbledore added softly before turning and leading Hagrid back out of the building.

"Well, then, you won't ever have to worry about her. My brothers and friends watch me like hawks." Trixie snorted.

At Hogwarts, Ginny helped Trixie get settled into the Gryffindor girls' room. Trixie told Ginny all about Sleepyside and the other members of the Bob Whites. Then Ginny told Trixie about growing up with her six older brothers. Trix quickly decided that she was glad to only have three brothers at home.

"Brian sure sounds pretty dreamy," Ginny sighed.

"Ugh," Trixie moaned. "He's Mr. Responsible and one of the most boring humans on Earth. Maybe if he had his own life and stopped being so protective of me..." Trixie shrugged.

"Dan then. As long as he is tall, dark and handsome," Ginny smiled.

"Yes, I will admit, Dan is pretty attractive," Trixie grinned and wiggled her eyebrows.

"So, Ginny, tell me about this Draco guy," Trixie tried to sound casual.

"Ew, why in the world would you want to know about him? He's nothing but an over grown toad," Ginny's nose wrinkled.

"I had the pleasure of running into him today… he just makes me curious."

"Oh, I'm sure it was quite pleasurable," Ginny rolled her eyes so far that Trixie thought they might fall right out. "He'd be the bane of my existence, if he wasn't already claimed by Harry as the same."

The next morning Trixie accompanied her newfound friends to the Great Hall where they had a quick breakfast before a Quidditch match. She was given a quick run through of the sport when the confused look crossed her face.

"Wow, at my house all the brooms do are clean the floors. I truly hate that chore… but it's not as bad as dusting," she mumbled loud enough for her friends to hear.

Ginny and Ron gave her a funny look at her comment.

"Our mom usually just uses charms to clean things," Ginny told her.

"The only charms we have where I live are little charms that hang off of bracelets."

"Why do you dust things? Wouldn't it be better to take the dust off them?" Ron asked, thoroughly befuddled, as they filed out of the Great Hall.

"Dusting is what we call getting the dust off of things," Trixie giggled.

Trixie saw Draco Malfoy out of the corner of her eye. She turned to watch him withdraw from his group of friends. Quickly, Trixie did the same and followed him from a distance. Once out of the back doors of Hogwarts, she followed him right back into another door that led, she learned, to the team quarters.

She continued to follow Malfoy through the rest of the Slytherin team players until they were standing over Malfoy's trunk of playing gear.

"What the hell are you doing in here? If you don't play, you aren't allowed in the team quarters. I need to change before the game, now get out!" Draco yelled.

Trixie's face blushed a deep crimson as she noticed the other players for the first time. Draco's words cut her, but she didn't let it show.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. I guess I'll just wait for you outside," she said as she turned for the door.

"Yes, you are sorry, and I don't want you to wait for me outside. I don't want to talk to you," Draco growled at her.

Trixie did wait for him just outside the door. She wasn't even able to say anything before Draco met her with a hiss.

"Go back to your filthy muggle-loving friends. You are not wanted here." Trixie swallowed hard and willed the prickling behind her eyes to go away.

"Trixie! There you are. Come on, hurry before we miss the match," Ginny grabbed her arm and pulled her to the stands.

"Hey Ginny, what's a muggle?"

After the game that Gryffindor won, Trixie once again posted herself outside the Slytherin's team quarters. While she waited she thought about what a thrill watching the game had given her. She loved to join in and play sports with her brothers, but never anything that far off the ground. What an adrenaline rush that must be! She was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost missed Draco sneaking past her.

"Hey Draco, good game," she said with a smile.

"It wasn't a good game, we lost, you stupid, filthy muggle," he snarled.

"I took a shower before breakfast, so I am not filthy. I might need a little help in math and English, but I am by no means stupid. You know, you could just talk to me about what's making you this angry. You would probably feel better."

Draco stopped in his tracks to gape at her with his mouth open like a fish. He recovered after a moment and glared at her while he growled before spinning on his heel and stomping to dinner.

"Well, Trix, this is not going well. I guess I'll just have to redouble my efforts," she muttered to herself with a smile.

Trixie entered the Great Hall and after taking a moment to look around, headed towards the table Draco was sitting at. All the green at the table didn't really deter her, she knew that the houses sat together but she wasn't going to worry about that. She was about ten feet from the end of the table when someone grabbed her arm and started pulling her away.

"Harry, I was going to have dinner with Draco," Trixie said indignantly.

"Not a good idea. Better you eat dinner with us," he told her as he continued to pull her to the Gryffindor table.

The next day Trixie went to classes with Harry and Ron. She didn't understand much, but still found it very interesting. Harry had told her that they would be sharing a couple classes with the Slytherins, the house that Draco was in. She couldn't wait for another chance to talk to Draco. There must be something just awful bothering him.

The first class they shared with the Slytherins was Potions. She tried to grab a seat near Draco, but the teacher would glare down his abnormally large nose at her. To get away from the wrath of the teacher, she sat between Harry and Ron. That did work for a while, until the potions master made her attempt the daily potion. Her attempt nearly blew up the room.

When class was over, she quickly caught up to Draco in the hall. She put her hand on his arm and opened her mouth to invite him to eat lunch with her, but he jerked his arm away and high-tailed it to his next class. Knowing she would have another chance sometime during the day, she didn't let this daunt her.

She went along with Harry and Ron to Transfiguration, which was a very entertaining class, as they were trying to turn ravens into writing desks. Their next class was Divination. Trixie didn't see anything at all in her crystal ball and she was slightly disappointed by that.

They stopped for lunch, and once more, Harry and Ron had to steer her away from the Slytherin table. Trixie just didn't understand why she couldn't have an innocent lunch with Draco. She merely wanted to talk to him.

"He doesn't like non magic folk," Harry hissed in her ear.

"His entire family is full of Death Eaters," came Ron's whisper from her other side.

"What's a Death Eater?" Trixie asked, now willingly following the two boys.

After lunch it was off to Care of Magical Creatures, the class that Hagrid- who, Trix learned was part giant, which was why he was so tall- taught. The magical creature of the day was the Grass Stepper. To Trixie it looked remarkably like a grasshopper, but it was three feet tall, not including its antennae.

"The most important thing is not to scare them. If you scare them, they hop at whatever scared them… and you don't want to know what happens if they land on you," Hagrid told the class, rubbing his hands together the entire time.

Draco, as usual, didn't listen to a word Hagrid had to say. He was still furious that Hagrid hadn't been fired after that bird beast attacked him. He whipped out his wand and used it to pull on the antennae of his Grass Stepper. When he didn't get a reaction out of the creature, he started stomping towards it.

The Grass Stepper let out a sound that was like a mix between a pig squeal and the roar of a bear. The sound had Draco stopped in his tracks and he couldn't move. Trixie, who had been watching Draco and waiting for a chance to approach him, watched wide-eyed as the Grass Stepper started hopping towards Draco. It wasn't what she would call hopping. The grass stepper was easily clearing 20 feet.

Trixie shook off her shock and darted to Draco's side. Without a second thought, she dove into a tackle sending them both out of harms way. Draco was silent for a few moments, stunned that someone had saved him. The stunned silence was quickly replaced by fuming anger at who had shoved him so unceremoniously to the ground.

"Get. Off. Of. Me. Now. You FILTHY MUGGLE!" Draco bit out furiously as he shoved Trixie off of him and stood.

"She just saved you, if not your life then from a hell of a lot of pain, Malfoy," Harry growled on Trixie's behalf as Hagrid easily lifted Trixie to her feet. Hagrid then turned to the creature to get it corralled somewhere safe.

"No, Harry, it's okay," she rested her hand on his arm and shooed him away.

"Are you alright, Draco?" She asked, studying him closely.

"Get away from me! How many times do I have to tell you?!?"

"You don't really mean that," Trixie told him confidently.

"You don't know me, Muggle. You don't know what you're messing with. Now, leave me alone, Mudblood," Draco stressed each word carefully in hopes that it would make her understand, his voice practically dripping with venom on the last word.

"Are you bloody bonkers? Do you have a death wish?" Ron demanded as he pulled her as far away from Malfoy as he could.

"Well Weasel, you finally found someone more clueless than you are," Draco's voice carried after them.

The next and last class of the day was History of Magic. Trixie was pleased to find that they shared this class with the Slytherins too. She quickly found a seat beside Draco. He gritted his teeth and glared at her but she merely smiled back.

Ten minutes into Professor Binn's lecture and Trixie was sure she could try out her new idea. She wiggled closer to Draco and started tell him all about her childhood and growing up in Sleepyside. By the time she got around to telling him about Bobby, he was slowly starting to bang his head on the table. Draco's face was turning a bright red as he reached to pull his wand out. Before he could hex Trixie, Ron had disarmed him with a wicked smile. Malfoy wanted to throw up as she told him all about meeting Jim running away and going in the Silver Swan to find him.

It wasn't until just before the end of class that she got around to telling Draco about Dan arriving in Sleepyside. She had decided to leave the best for last. She told him how she and the other Bob Whites had helped Dan turn his life around, and how she was sure if he would just let her in, she could help Draco too.

Trixie followed Draco out the door and down the corridor, still telling him about her family and friends on their way to the infirmary. Draco had one doozy of a headache and needed a charm to block it. Madame Pomfrey quickly sent Trixie on her way once she had taken Draco inside for his charm.

With a sigh, Trixie headed down to the Great Hall, knowing that dinner would be starting soon. Wandering in and sitting at the Gryffindor table in the place that she had since she arrived; Trixie realized that she was only one of a few students already there. The rest slowly trickled in and sat to eat.

At the end of the meal, when everyone was about to head for their common rooms, Severus Snape-who had been absent throughout the meal-ran into the hall and up to Dumbledore's seat. They held a whispered conference before Dumbledore stood and addressed the students.

"In light of a recent development, I must ask all students to head to their common rooms. I will have an update for you as soon as possible." The students all left in a roar of complaints and suspicions.

"Well, isn't that mysterious?" Trixie mused aloud to her friends. By now all her newfound friends had heard the stories and knew her saying that meant nothing but trouble.

"We'll tell you all about what it probably is in the common room," Ginny hurriedly whispered to Trixie and led her towards the painting of the fat lady.

The next morning, Harry left the common room early, as he had been summoned by Dumbledore to the Headmaster's office. He knew he wouldn't like what Dumbledore had to tell him, he could feel it in his gut and in the burning of his scar.

Dumbledore told him exactly what he had hoped most not to hear. Voldemort was not only back, but he was on his way. Harry made his way back to the common room, rubbing his scar the entire way. He had a vague feeling like he was going to be violently ill.

Trixie, Ginny, and Ron met him at the door. He told them exactly what Dumbledore had told him. Everyone was stunned, but at the same time knew that this is what had happened. Trixie sat in the arm chair closest to the fire, chewing on her nails and thinking.

"Harry, I think I have an idea," Trixie finally said after a few minutes.

"Let's hear it," Harry said.

She suggested one and only one thing, but it was the best idea that Harry had heard during the war against He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named. Harry quickly took Trixie to Dumbledore's office to tell him the new idea. Harry and Trixie were both surprised at how quickly Dumbledore took to and accepted the idea.

When the time came, only three people met Voldemort at the gates of Hogwarts. Dumbledore, Harry, and Trixie stood waiting for him.

The Dark Wizard approached with his customary smug look. His evil grin broadened when his eyes landed on Trixie. His plan would finally work.

"Ah, at long last," he rasped, "I am finally going to defeat Harry-" Voldemort's speech was cut off abruptly as Harry's spell hit him square in the chest.

"How does it feel, Voldemort? To love something?" Harry asked as the dark wizards eyes landed on Trixie again. His heart constricted and ached for her. He didn't know what was happening. Potter had said something about love. _Did love really hurt so badly, yet feel so good?_ That was all he had time to think before he fell to the ground with one last pained gasp.


	4. Epilogue

Easter Sunday dawned bright without a cloud in the sky in Sleepyside. Hermione rose early to get Trixie's chores done. There would be a lot of people coming by after church for Helen's Easter buffet of mouth-watering food. Hermione had come to realize quickly how Mart came about his love of any kind of food.

After the special church service, the Beldens and Hermione rushed to their rooms to change out of their Sunday best. At first Helen and Hermione were very organized getting the food together and set out. Until people started arriving, that was when everything got a little hectic. But true to form, Moms wasn't fazed by it in the least. She was in her element being hostess to friends and family; her smile never left her face.

"My gustatory cells have never been subject to the divinatory elation and sensory titillation!" Mart said as he rubbed his stomach after he finished his dinner. Di's head jerked in his direction, a shocked look on her pretty face. Certainly Mart wasn't referring to body parts! Her look quickly changed to add an offended tone.

"Mart, I find it highly unlikely that Moms neglected to feed you for so long that you needed to eat a dictionary to survive," Hermione teased before Di could say anything. "I mean, she's made massive meals every day since I got here."

"This coming from the girl that ate every edition of encyclopedias she could get her hands on… not to mention every book in the Hogwart's school library," Mart shot back with a grin and a gleam in his eye making Di laugh prettily.

"Touché," Hermione laughed.

"Walk with me," Brian requested. At Hermione's smile and nod he placed his hand at the small of her back and they wandered towards the line of crabapples. "Tell me more about Hogwarts."

"Brian, I've told you everything about Hogwarts already," Hermione grinned.

"What about the medical wing?"

"What about the security?" Dan joined them.

"Madam Pomfrey is all we have in the medical wing. She casts spells and charms and gives us potions to help what ails us," Hermione told Brian.

Hermione continued answering every question the boys had, no matter how small or silly. She was unused to all the attention, but she had to admit that she didn't really mind it too much. All the while, though, Dan and Brian were sending each other _looks_ over the top of Hermione's head.

Peter let out an ear piercing whistle and everyone gathered back at the patio. Helen and Peter both handed baskets out to the teens and younger kids. It was time for the Easter egg hunt.

"We've hidden a disgusting amount of eggs filled with candy, thanks to Bobby and Hermione who filled them. Good luck everyone," Peter dismissed them to start the hunt.

Hermione headed slowly back to the orchard, picking eggs up here and there as she went. Brian followed, keeping her in sight, and gathering the eggs that she missed, all the while admiring everything about her body from a distance. She set her basket down and climbed up into one of the trees, obviously seeing a brightly colored egg.

A sudden shrill scream had Brian nearly wetting his pants. When he realized where it came from, he snapped out of it and ran towards the crabapple trees, followed closely by Dan. Everyone else hurried from where they were.

"It's done," Dumbledore stated the obvious, the ever present twinkle in his eyes.

"I can't believe it," Harry marveled as they started on the trek back to the castle. "I've been fighting him for 6 years and it's finally over."

"I helped defeat a dark wizard… wow… Best trip EVER!" Trixie nearly squealed.

"We couldn't have done this without you," Harry smiled at her. "Thank you."

"No, thank you. I have enjoyed my stay here so much. I wonder how much longer it will last," Trixie said, her last sentence barely audible as she thought to herself out loud.

"Well, what happened?!" Ron and Ginny demanded in unison as they ran out the front doors to greet the trio.

"It worked," Harry told his best friend and girlfriend, his voice still holding a hint of awe.

"Bloody hell. How did you figure that out without sleeping in the library for a week? Hermione would _still_ be there trying to figure it out," Ron squeaked out, amazed. Ginny didn't waste her time with words; she threw herself gleefully into Harry's arms.

"I must speak with the house elves. This calls for a feast beyond all feasts," Dumbledore excused himself.

The group of friends slowly made their way up to the Gryffindor common room. Ron and Ginny threw question after question at the two victors on their way. Harry and Trixie both happily answered all their questions, giving every detail of what had happened, more people joining the group as they went. Soon there was whooping and hollering and even dancing in the halls.

They parted ways in the common room, the girls heading to their dorm and the boys to theirs. Everyone happily got ready… well, killed time waiting for the celebratory dinner. Trixie silently admitted to herself that she would miss Hogwarts terribly when she finally went home. She shoved that thought from her mind, though, because she was going to enjoy the celebration.

The foursome gathered in the common room again to walk to the Great Hall together. Harry held Ginny's hand, but had his free arm around Trixie's shoulders while Ron was on the other side with his arm slung around her waist. They had been through an awful lot in a short period of time, and Harry knew he had found another life long friend in her.

"I think I'm going to hang out here for a minute. You go on in," Trixie said, stopping at the doors of the Great Hall. Harry gave her shoulders a quick squeeze while Ron and Ginny grinned nearly identical grins at her.

Trixie smiled when she spotted who she was waiting for. Draco was walking by himself, for once, and Trixie knew this was her chance. As he passed by, avoiding eye contact she slipped in step with him.

"Hey Draco." She waited a couple of seconds, but he was definitely ignoring her.

"I just wanted to tell you that I really am going to miss you when I have to go home to Sleepyside. I was hoping that maybe we could be pen pals. You know, write to each other?"

Draco's eyes got wide, but he bit his tongue to keep from yelling at her. Instead, he broke into a run and was in the Great Hall sitting at his table before she knew what had happened.

"Hermione! Hermione, are you okay?!" Brian called as he dodged through the trees.

"What happened?" Dan demanded as he caught up with Brian.

"I don't know! She was climbing the tree to get an egg, she was fine!"

The two Bob Whites dropped to their knees when they reached the heap of girl. It took the both of them a second before they realized that the heap wasn't the right size for what Hermione would make, and the hair color was wrong.

"Gleeps," Brian rolled his eyes as he stood. "It's okay everyone, don't worry, it's just Trixie."

"_Just_ Trixie?" the heap demanded indignantly. Brian laughed and scooped her into his arms in a giant bear hug.

"Easy Bri, you're going to crush her," Dan chuckled.

The Beldens and the rest of the Bob Whites huddled around taking turns hugging Trixie and asking her if she was okay. Brian took the time to do a once over on her; checking her eyes, her face for bruises, her limbs, and deemed her perfectly healthy as she brushed him away from her.

"You think we'll see her again?" Dan asked Brian as the doctor-to-be straightened.

"I don't know, but I sure hope so," Brian answered.

Helen got her daughter a plate of food and everyone listened to her tell stories of what had happened at Hogwarts while she was there.

Hermione fell on her butt and looked around in confusion. She smiled ecstatically when she realized where she was. She jumped up and, without bothering to dust herself off, ran into the Great Hall.

Ginny looked up and made eye contact with her first. Harry and Ron quickly jumped up and ran with Ginny to greet Hermione and welcome her back.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.

"How was Sleepyside?" Ron wanted to know.

"What was her family like? Were they really everything she said?" Harry questioned. They all gave her tight hugs. Hermione laughed and followed them back to the table. Before she could sit down she felt arms around her waist again. Turning, she was shell-shocked when she saw who they were attached to.

"Hermione! I am SO glad to have you back!!!" Draco wouldn't release the hated Mud-blood.

Hermione wrinkled her nose, shoved him away and demanded harshly, "Who the bloody hell are you and what have you done with the real Malfoy?"

_Author's Note:_

_I realize Draco was very much so out of character at the end, but wouldn't you be if you had been accosted by a damned muggle girl?_


End file.
